Efforts To Regulate Plastic Pollution Likely To Increase In 2023

TAKEAWAYS

• The Biden Administration is rapidly accelerating efforts to develop plastics-related regulations, bolstered by support from congressional democrats, including through legislative mandates passed in the recent FY 2023 omnibus appropriations act.
• The EPA, the Department of Interior, the GSA, other federal agencies and state leaders are advancing strategies to reduce single-use plastics products and revise recycling mandates that will have far-reaching consequences for plastics and the U.S. economy.
• The EPA recently began funding investments in recycling infrastructure to promote innovations in collecting, sortation and processing technologies.

Public concern regarding plastic pollution in the United States has continued to grow in recent years. While more traditionally centered on unmanaged plastic waste and U.S. recycling capacity, this has evolved to include issues such as microplastics, plastic-related chemicals, ESG and the environmental